Replacing GU10 downlighters with LEDs

Steve

Hi All,

I'm getting fed up replacing bulbs in my downlighters - non of them seem to last longer than 6-8 months - so I'm thinking of moving to LEDs.

At the moment I have 4x50W recessed GU10s in the living room, 3 in the hall, 3 in the dining room, more on the landing, kitchen, bedrooms etc. (all mains voltage).

Can anyone tell me if LEDs are worth the cash - do they last?
How much would I expect to pay for one?
I know they're more economical - they said that about CFLs and then the market was flooded with the cheap Asian ones that don't last so it ends up costing more.

How does the light compare to the standard tungsten bulbs?
I don't need to be able to perform surgery on the coffee table but enough to read by etc.
Can you get "warm" coloured light - or are they only available in Daz Blue Whiteness?

Anyone know a good supplier (Dublin Area)?

Appreciate your advice,
Steve.

ircoha

I made the mistake of mixing GU10's with LEDs as a compromise for she who must be obeyed and they burned out in about 3 weeks:(

There are others here with loads of intell on LED's, did u search the forum?

The supplier is not the issue, it is the quality of the product as per the CCFL's (crap cfl's)

I paid 16 euro a pop

Steve

ircoha wrote: »

I made the mistake of mixing GU10's with LEDs as a compromise for she who must be obeyed and they burned out in about 3 weeks:(

There are others here with loads of intell on LED's, did u search the forum?

The supplier is not the issue, it is the quality of the product as per the CCFL's (crap cfl's)

I paid 16 euro a pop

Ouch - not what I wanted to hear.

Yeah I searched - there was a lot of discussion back in August about this, was wondering how people got on since then
(+ didn't want a slap for dragging up an old post;))

Steve

bedlam wrote: »

I got mine for about 8euro a bulb (6watt) from Low E LED based in Crumlin.

Thanks for that looks interesting - the site isn't dial-up freindly so I'll look tomorrow in work.

delly

Thread moved from G/DIY

Steve

Cheers Delly, been a while since Ive been around DIY - didnt realise it was split.

Builderwoman!

Try http://www.dotlight.de/shop/

We've bought bulbs online from them. They offer very good service and excellent leds. We've had them many months now and no problems. Well worth considering.

Steve

Thanks builderwoman, that site has lots of good info.

This is what I've found:
The German guys:

78 led / 2.6W / 3500k = 590lux/50cm €20ea
Sounds good but it's 63mm dia and won't fit.

60 led / 1.3W / 3000k = 350lux/50cm €14ea
looks like the best option, nice warm colour as well.

38 led / 2.3W / 3000K = 1210lux/50cm €10ea
Strange one, its a 35deg cone hence the ligh lux, and, while the brightest will only light a small circle on the floor.

21 led (no other info) = 24lux €6 ea
better off with a candle?

The Irish guys only seemed to have 1 type
18 led 1W (no other info) €5 + vat each.


Any further thoughts people?

Does anyone know the lux / temp values for a Halogen GU10?

Steve.

garyh3

Yep I have the 60Led but I have to mix in a couple of 50w also until I put another set of lights in the Kitchen. Currently I have 8 GU10s 6 are led and 2 are 50w. Going to put another 4 strip and then put all to LED's. Then the wife can leave on all day for all I care as its only about 15w:D

stag39

hi stevec i purchased 4 gu10 cfl 11 watt bulbs 17 euro a pop installed them in the regular downlighter fitting ( the one without the housing covering the bulb ) just needed some bending of the springclip holders to allow the bulb to push back all the way flush..

they are 'warm start' type and have a nice warm light ...light output the same as the 50watt gu10 halogens..

eurosales electrical wholesalers in sandyford, ringsend and glasnevin, are the place to get these... and no i dont work for them..

Steve

garyh3 wrote:

Yep I have the 60Led but I have to mix in a couple of 50w also until I put another set of lights in the Kitchen. Currently I have 8 GU10s 6 are led and 2 are 50w. Going to put another 4 strip and then put all to LED's. Then the wife can leave on all day for all I care as its only about 15w:D

That's what I was afraid of - I don't want to end up having to buy loads of them as they're so expensive.

stag39 wrote:

hi stevec i purchased 4 gu10 cfl 11 watt bulbs 17 euro a pop installed them in the regular downlighter fitting ( the one without the housing covering the bulb ) just needed some bending of the springclip holders to allow the bulb to push back all the way flush..

they are 'warm start' type and have a nice warm light ...light output the same as the 50watt gu10 halogens..

eurosales electrical wholesalers in sandyford, ringsend and glasnevin, are the place to get these... and no i dont work for them..

Might give these a go. I actually bought the fittings from them originally.
What's 'warm start'? does that mean they don't take ages to get to full brightness?

Thanks guys.

Stoner

I have GU10 CFLs in my living room, and i can read with them no problem.
Some people go mad for LEDS, but it is still my opinion that CFLs are the best value, and the 11W lamp just about pulls off a replacement for a 50W GU10.

I said it before and I have said it again, LEDs are always improving, but their wattage is also going up, people need to consider this.
1w then 2W then 3W now 6W, where as CFLs are improving but are still at
9W and 11W.
I think the future lies with LEDs but as long as the connection is the same you can upgrade when they come on line

there are applications for everything, but IMO the GU 10 CFL is the best option for straight change over from 50W lamps in domestic applications at the moment.

carpainter

I have two ROBUS tracks in my kitchen which are fitted with GU10 lamps, will it be possible to buy a compatible CFL replacement for these (the lampholders have a lamp retaining ring which screws over the lamp itself). The last time I was in a wholesalers I saw a stand with CFL replacement lamps for every type of lamp but I know that the sizes in some lamp styles are slightly different.

Stoner

carpainter wrote: »

I, will it be possible to buy a compatible CFL replacement for these (the lampholders have a lamp retaining ring which screws over the lamp itself). .

Carpainter, the only CFL GU10's I've seen are are longer then a standard GU10 lamp and will not fit into some fittings, i dont think is is a smaller type

carpainter

Thanks Stoner, thought as much.

meelick

Hi,
I just replaced 8 50W halogens in my kitchen with the following:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200313869068
from Lowe LEDs. I made the mistake of not researching fully before I purchased, and they are very white. To measure the colour temparature, I took a photo of a calibrated greycard under one of them, and then I corrected the white balance on the PC and they showed a colour temp of 6350K, very white indeed. My wife doesnt like them at all, and I have to agree. The replaced halogens showed a colour temp of 2750K.
They are also very dim, having 38 LEDs and being roughly equivalent to 20-30W halogens, maybe 80 lumens, and have a beam angle of about 30deg.
Having learned from this first attempt, I've ordered 2 of the following.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=370175891815
They're 2700K, 115deg angle, and have 72 LEDS. Converting from 112,000mcd at 115deg seems to give a result of 350lumens, so I'm hoping they'll be a lot brighter and a more pleasing colour. Will post again when they arrive.
Rgds,
Dave.

Mr Digger

Hello, you could also have a look at www.futureled.ie

John mac

I replaced mine with Megaman 11w €15.50 each:eek:

they have a very slight Pink tint when they start up but once they get warmed up they are fine.

I also changed the reflector bulbs in the kitchen 21 ish each.
Hope they will last a long time.
Its good to see the OWL not going to high.

zoey48

Stoner wrote: »

Carpainter, the only CFL GU10's I've seen are are longer then a standard GU10 lamp and will not fit into some fittings, i dont think is is a smaller type

I bought some for €15 in Telfords in Portlaoise last week and they are the exact same size as CFL GU10's. Admittedly there are two types the longer ones were also in Telfords and are €10

Lightman

Thread details removed.

Sorry Lightman, good info but Boards.ie don't allow advertisements. If you want your company to be added to the list of suppliers, just ask. If you want to share some decent info, try a different approach, one that does not contain links to your company.

Thanks

meelick

Hi,
I was pleased with the 2 72LED GU10s I received, so I ordered 10 more.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=290270988493
They're roughly equivalent to a 40W lamp, I was replacing 50W but I can certainly live with that, as the kitchen is now 36W total as opposed to 600W with the 12 halogens I was using. Very pleasing yellow light, very similar to the halogens.

Oh, and on the other batch I ordered http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=200313869068 from www.loweleds.com.
I left two of them on in the hall, and one blew after two weeks. So you may not actually get 50,000 hours out of them.

Rgds,
Dave.

Lightman

Lightman wrote: »

Thread details removed.

Sorry Lightman, good info but Boards.ie don't allow advertisements. If you want your company to be added to the list of suppliers, just ask. If you want to share some decent info, try a different approach, one that does not contain links to your company.

Thanks

Links to a company like the ebay shop posted today by Meelick !!

Stoner

Lightman wrote: »

Links to a company like the ebay shop posted today by Meelick !!

true, but you made it very clear that the lamps you were talking about were supplied by your company, so the information was biased and a blatant advertisement (not allowed by the owners of boards), Meelick's post was about his experience as a normal punter and it contained positive and negative info. Links to suppliers are fine but if they read as an advertisement they should be removed.

Like I said before, your approach was wrong, but the info was good. Thanks.

Lightman

Stoner wrote: »

true, but you made it very clear that the lamps you were talking about were supplied by your company, so the information was biased and a blatant advertisement (not allowed by the owners of boards), Meelick's post was about his experience as a normal punter and it contained positive and negative info. Links to suppliers are fine but if they read as an advertisement they should be removed.

Like I said before, your approach was wrong, but the info was good. Thanks.

Point taken I was not aware of this and was genuinely trying to pass on info all be it with a bit of self promotion in mind just wanted people to be informed as there are a lot of cowboys out there! Anyway anyone can google 3 watt superbright and purchase a good quality led lamp from any vendor just be aware there are cheap immitations claiming to be as bright as a 50 watt halogen . Remember our lightworks!!

meelick

I just thought I'd post a reply to this to follow up after 9 months of use of the GU10s that I mentioned above. Some of the replacements blew again, and of the remainder, ALL OF THEM have several leds in the centre blow and turn black, drastically reducing their brightness. So, I've thrown them all out. I'm back to halogens, but I got some "Luminux" 4W (60 LED) today in a local hardware store, and they do seem to be as bright as the 40W I'm replacing, even thought the shop said they should be equivalent to 50W. Model number is GU10-LED-60-WH, priced at €12 each.
Rgds,
Dave.

congo_90

I started a thread a few moments ago but then caught site of this so deleted.
Anyhow. Any movement on led bulbs? I've 2 out of 3 blown in my room today.

Was looking at this crowd: http://www.avocalite.ie/inc/sdetail/3799 I'd be replacing 3 bulbs in my room and eventually replacing 7 in the kitchen with time (and more money)

meelick

congo_90 wrote: »

I started a thread a few moments ago but then caught site of this so deleted.
Anyhow. Any movement on led bulbs? I've 2 out of 3 blown in my room today.

Was looking at this crowd: http://www.avocalite.ie/inc/sdetail/3799 I'd be replacing 3 bulbs in my room and eventually replacing 7 in the kitchen with time (and more money)

I would have my doubts that a 2 watt LED is the equivalent of 50w. More like 4 watt equivalent to 40 watt. However, if the beam angle is very tight, then the amount of light falling directly under the light might be the same, but the spread might be very poor. All I can suggest is to try before you buy. I bought about 16 of the ebay ones (different types), and found them all to be lacking. The first batch were blue-white, the second batch were too dim, and the third batch were fine but all failed within 9 months. I'm now on my 4th batch, and they are nice and bright, but I'll give it a few months before I can say if they are reliable or not. There are many, many different manufacturers out there, and some of them look like they've been put together in a sweat-shop in the Far East. Try a few before you invest in a large number of them.
Rgds,
Dave.

congo_90

Thanks for swift reply. I've to replace a cfl lamp anyways so will be ordering one of those. As for the GU10's.. Did you have to do any adaptations?

meelick

congo_90 wrote: »

Thanks for swift reply. I've to replace a cfl lamp anyways so will be ordering one of those. As for the GU10's.. Did you have to do any adaptations?

Nope. GU10 LEDs go straight into the standard GU10 sockets.

Rgds,
Dave.

congo_90

So in essense these bulbs would be useless at lighting a room like a standard 50watt.
bah i'll just use my cfl lamp when on the laptop :rolleyes:

corrsfan

sorry for digging up an old thread, but i thought my experience would help someone.

i moved into this flat just over three years ago, and after a bit of renovations i ended up with 22 gu10 downlighters (9 lroom, 3 hall, 3 bathroom, 7 in my bedroom). basically approx 1M apart inside each room in two rows, bathroom/hall aside. i have quite high celings 3.5m in height.

knowing full well i didnt want 50w hallogens running i bought cheapo no name brand 50w equivalent cfl lights. these did the job, but being cheap ones these went dimmer to the point of basically giving off a yellow glow rather than light. I think after 6 months of fairly heavy usage i ended up replacing the really bad ones and experimenting with other bulbs. interestingly not all of these failed at the same time.

I settled on the megaman branded ones, as these at the time were promoting a much quicker startup response. because of my high celings i found the 7w versions were not bright enough (couldnt see the crumbs on the floor...) the 9 watts i used for the hall & the bathroom, and the 11watt ones i trialed on the livingroom, however as little as 4 months later, and these were starting to fail also. I suspect it is to do with the combonation of cfl technology, and the bulbs basically cooking themselves in my celing, as the ceilings all insulated plasterboard.

by that time 2 years or so ago was getting annoyed with replacing bulbs at over £10 each. Philips had just released their 7w megaled series of bulbs (the long heavy ones) and these seemed to be cooler running, and getting a lot of attendion at the time, bought a few to try (2 at first as these were £30 each , and have now had the whole flat (all 22 lights) using these for over 2 years. Im well impressed because even now each bulb is still too bright to look directly into, and crucially in the bathroom where i like hot showers the moisture has not afected these either.

Long story short im delighted with my led lights, but for the cost of them, i need another 2-3 years out of them, but that looks to be foressable. I would also hunt high and low before i use a cfl in place of a (decent) led bulb, given my experience of the above.

Steve

I've tried several LED GU10's and there's more light from my iphone. The one I have left is in the kitchen glassware cupboard - that's all it's good for.

I've also tried out several GU10 CFL's on the landing - the first one lasted three months, the second one is a year old and takes about 10 minutes to give off decent light. Economy / money saving my arse.

paddy147

Steve wrote: »

I've tried several LED GU10's and there's more light from my iphone. The one I have left is in the kitchen glassware cupboard - that's all it's good for.

I've also tried out several GU10 CFL's on the landing - the first one lasted three months, the second one is a year old and takes about 10 minutes to give off decent light. Economy / money saving my arse.

Philips 4 watt dimmable LED GU10 are the way to go.

Great light quality and excellent bulb too.:)

Schorpio

Sorry if this is a stupid question but after reading through this thread I'm still not fully clear - if I have downlighters (GU10's) which run off mains voltage, are there any LED replacements I can get which I wouldn't have to also get a transformer for?

Stoner

Yes the Philips master led range, 4 or 7 W. The 7 Watt would replace a 12V 50Watt lamp, the 4 W would replace a 35W lamp. But if you have traffos you need the GU 10 holders to replace the traffos and MR 16 holder. As you already have GU10 holders the 4W LED would nearly do, they are close enough to 50W 220v lamps

paddy147

Schorpio wrote: »

Sorry if this is a stupid question but after reading through this thread I'm still not fully clear - if I have downlighters (GU10's) which run off mains voltage, are there any LED replacements I can get which I wouldn't have to also get a transformer for?

Philips Master LED range.:)

Schorpio

Lovely! Thank you! I'll give these a shot and see how I go! Is amazon the best place to get them or can they be had cheaper elsewhere?

paddy147

Schorpio wrote: »

Lovely! Thank you! I'll give these a shot and see how I go! Is amazon the best place to get them or can they be had cheaper elsewhere?

Philips Master 4 watt dimmable LEDs are 8 euro 50 cents plus VAT from Eurosales in Dublin.:)

I have my entire house kitted out in them,they have a fantastic "warm white" light quality.:)

Steve

Do they really give out the equivalent of a 50W halogen??

paddy147

Steve wrote: »

Do they really give out the equivalent of a 50W halogen??

They are rated as a 35 watt replecement,but myself and several others (even Eurosales and other electricians) have said that they are much better than that,and much closer to a normal 50 watt blub.

I swear by them,the light quality is brilliant and a really lovely "homely" warm white.:)

Have a look at the pics I posted of these lights in my house and kitchen (search my threads).

Steve

Cheers for that, you can't beat an honest recommendation here!

I'll give them a try, I'm sick of replacing the halogens.

Schorpio

.....anywhere in the Cork area?

Carlow52

when i replaced 2 gu10s with 2 led's on the same ciruit the leds lasted a week, was told afterwards 'no can do' mixing led's with gu10's on same circuit so.. this was a few years ago when the leds were 35 yoyos a pop. they are still there:) need to get value from my neg equity investment:)

cast_iron

Carlow52 wrote: »

when i replaced 2 gu10s with 2 led's on the same ciruit the leds lasted a week, was told afterwards 'no can do' mixing led's with gu10's on same circuit so.. this was a few years ago when the leds were 35 yoyos a pop. they are still there:) need to get value from my neg equity investment:)

Unless they were with transformers, I can't see where the issue would be.

M cebee

http://www.futureled.ie/en/content/2-legal-notice

there is mention of it-dunno if it's a big issue

CuppaCocoa

paddy147 wrote: »

Philips Master 4 watt dimmable LEDs are 8 euro 50 cents plus VAT from Eurosales in Dublin.:)

I have my entire house kitted out in them,they have a fantastic "warm white" light quality.:)

Hi, we're about to put in 19 downlighters. We were going with 3w GU10s and the electrician has said I will need to get the connectors and coffin obo boxes to go with them. Can I use these lights instead and if so, do I still need to get the connectors and boxes? Also, do I need to get a Philips expensive dimmer switch for these or will a standard one do?

cast_iron

lilybarlean wrote: »

Hi, we're about to put in 19 downlighters. We were going with 3w GU10s and the electrician has said I will need to get the connectors and coffin obo boxes to go with them. Can I use these lights instead and if so, do I still need to get the connectors and boxes? Also, do I need to get a Philips expensive dimmer switch for these or will a standard one do?

You will need the connectors and obo boxes reagardless if you are putting in downlighters.

Most gu10 led lamps are not dimmable. You will have the check the packaging to be sure. If so, I'm sure the wholesaler will have a suitable dimmer.

WetDaddy

paddy147 wrote: »

Schorpio wrote: »

Sorry if this is a stupid question but after reading through this thread I'm still not fully clear - if I have downlighters (GU10's) which run off mains voltage, are there any LED replacements I can get which I wouldn't have to also get a transformer for?

Philips Master LED range.:)

Apologies for replying to an earlier comment, but I just found this thread. I think these Philips LEDs are just what I need - but is there any quick and easy way of knowing if I have transformers or not? I've a toddler so reaching into the ceiling on a ladder, etc. isn't an option for me at the moment (and I'd love to find out in the next few days)...

Thanks!

cast_iron

Unless you can get up and take a lamp out to have a look at what it connects to, then no there is no way to be sure.

WetDaddy

cast_iron wrote: »

Unless you can get up and take a lamp out to have a look at what it connects to, then no there is no way to be sure.

Thanks for the reply. So what exactly am I Looking for when I pull down the lamp? Also, I've spots in a few places around the house - do I need to check each circuit (which I'm assuming is each "lightswitch section", if that makes sense...)?

cast_iron

WetDaddy wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. So what exactly am I Looking for when I pull down the lamp? Also, I've spots in a few places around the house - do I need to check each circuit (which I'm assuming is each "lightswitch section", if that makes sense...)?

If the lamp twists into its holder, it will be a gu10 mains. If not, it will just push in/out, and a transformer should be close by. I'd imagine the same type is used all over the house, certainly one room should have all the same type anyway.